Through the roller coaster ride of being a national recruit and the proverbial “big man on campus” Stewart has taken it all in stride and not forgotten his roots.

The 4-star recruit and Western Michigan University commit was named the 2013 Sturgis Journal Male Athlete of the Year, which is just another award for the Stewart trophy case.

This past weekend, Stewart helped lead the Trojan basketball team to their fourth straight A&K Printing Holiday Tournament title. But it almost didn’t happen.

Just a few months ago, Stewart was faced with the decision to enroll early at Western or remain at Sturgis through graduation.

“It was weird that Friday, had I gone early, that would have been my last day of school,” Stewart said, recalling the day he decided to remain at Sturgis. “I’m glad I’m sticking around and I’m enjoying basketball. I’m excited to see what the rest of the year can bring.”

“Everyone looks at the finished product of Chance in his senior year, but he had a learning curve those first few years,” Kurowski said. “He’s probably one of the hardest workers I’ve been associated with since I’ve been coaching and while he played three sports, he always found a way to get into the gym in those summer months and hone his skills and work on his game. Each year he’s gotten better and better to the point now where he’s an All-State caliber basketball player.”

And although there are only a few months left in his time at Sturgis High School, Stewart now takes the time to slow down and reflect on his past years as a Trojan.

“There are a lot of lasts — including the last time you walk though the tunnel toward that football field,” he said. “It’s been a roller coaster ride, up and down, and I love that I’m a Sturgis Trojan and I’m enjoying it as much as possible.”

He said not much has changed in the four years since he was a freshman participating in football drills.

To him, it’s always about giving his team the best opportunity to win games. Stewart only knows one speed when he’s competing — full speed, all the time.

“It’s been the same really since I’ve been in school, you just go out there and do what you know how to do, you play to the best of your ability and the rest really doesn’t change much,” he said.

Page 2 of 5 - Another thing that hasn’t changed for Stewart is his relationship with head football coach Jimmy Lamb. The duo have spent each of the last five seasons together on the gridiron.

Stewart said Lamb has been an influential part of his growth from eighth grade.

“He was always that guy that was an adult figure that I could count on and we’ve been through a lot together,” Stewart said of Lamb. “The last four years have been up and down, but I wouldn’t change it. I wouldn’t have wanted anyone else in that position.”

Lamb really showcased his abilities not only to coach, but also his athletic prowess this past summer. During a team-oriented camping trip to Cade Lake, a sand volleyball tournament was put together.

Stewart said he wasn’t sure what to expect from Lamb and his team in the tournament, but learned rather quickly.

“I always knew he was competitive but during that tournament he took it to a new level,” Stewart said of Lamb. “We saw the real coach Lamb competitiveness there. That was a great time and it was a good team-bonding experience. We definitely saw coach Lamb get competitive with us and I think that helped.”

Lamb said the volleyball tournament wasn’t as close as Stewart made it seem.

“I believe we won five matches to one that day,” Lamb recalled. “I could be wrong with the number, but we handed it to them. It was an easy victory.”

And on a more serious note, Lamb said he’s enjoyed the progression Stewart has made from a middle school kid to a man in just five years.

“It’s been remarkable, he’s matured into a fine young man and he’s one of those guys you come across and see the maturity,” Lamb said. “He’s down to earth and watching him the last five years we’ve seen him take on a lot and probably more than he needs to. But he has a tendency to lead, a goal and drive attitude that we really saw this year.”

Stewart, who believes the Seattle Seahawks will win the Super Bowl this year, said work ethic and leadership are both things he wants people from Sturgis to remember him by when he’s gone and competing for the quarterback job of Western Michigan.

But when he works on his football skills, Stewart said he likes to model himself after a couple of quarterbacks. The first being Tim Tebow — Stewart said his drive, leadership and work ethic are all things he tries to emulate whether on or off the field. The other? Peyton Manning.

Page 3 of 5 - “The way he handles things is just amazing, the way he handles the line of scrimmage and the way they drive the ball down the field is impressive,” Stewart said. “He always seems to be calm and collected. That’s something you always look at.”

Stewart wears the No. 7, but it wasn’t the number he wanted to wear as a freshman. His father Chad wore No. 14 when he played football and Chance himself sported No. 12 during rocket football.

Yet, when he got to the high school level, both numbers were already taken. And unlike professional sports where athletes pay loads of money to continue wearing their numbers, Stewart just picked another one. And now, four years later, the No. 7 is synonymous with Stewart.

“I wanted to be No. 12 or 14 going into high school, but both were already taken so I chose between No. 7 and 9,” Stewart said. “I stuck with it and now I get to have it for the next four years at Western, so I’m pretty excited about that.”

A big part of coming back to Sturgis was Western Michigan coach P.J. Fleck, who said he would support Stewart in either choice he made. Fleck, the youngest coach in Division 1, has built a solid recruiting class together in his efforts to turn Western into a winning program. His mantra, “Row The Boat,” has recruits, alumni and current players buying into his system. But what exactly does “Row The Boat” mean?

“It’s a staple of coach Fleck’s in regards to family — when I first heard it I didn’t know what it meant,” Stewart said. “I thought, ‘What’s a boat have to do with a Bronco?’ but when you hear coach Fleck talk about it, life is all about always looking back. You’re always talking about going through adversity and you keep rowing through what happens in life. And they had a 1-11 season this year, so coach Fleck is not gonna give up on that. He’s going to keep rowing.”

Stewart ultimately chose Western over Illinois. The Fighting Illini recruited Stewart hard after he re-opened his recruitment following a coaching change at the University of Wisconsin. Most recruits often have a story or two talking about universities vying for their services in athletics. Stewart, obviously, was no exception.

One unique recruiting story came from Illinois.

“You definitely get lots of mail and some schools find unique ways to express their interest in you,” Stewart said. “Illinois was really after me once I re-opened my recruiting and they put my face on a pizza.”

Page 4 of 5 - On a pizza? Yep.

“My face was right on the pizza,” Stewart said. “It was all cheese with my face on it — it was different.”

And the obvious question came — did he eat the pizza?

“Nope,” Stewart said with a laugh. “I did not get to eat it.”

The down to earth atmosphere surrounding Stewart helps him excel. He keeps his friends close and is always up for helping out his teammates. He’s an extension of his coaches on the field of play and it doesn’t go unnoticed.

“Beyond his skill development, he’s the best leader I’ve ever coached,” Kurowski said. “Anytime you can have your best player be your hardest worker and your best leader, you have something special there.”

In addition to winning four consecutive holiday tournaments, Stewart has helped the Sturgis basketball program also collect three straight district championships.

One more would certainly go a long way in helping solidify Stewart in Trojan history on the basketball court and give coach Kurowski more hardware for the trophy case.

And Stewart knows he can’t do it alone.

No matter how many points, rebounds, shots blocked or how much he out-works the opponent, he can’t do it alone.

“We definitely want to win another district title in basketball, but it’s going to be tough this year,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of young guys, but we’re going to get after it. Once we start clicking I think we can be a great team.”

The team. The team. The team.

When asked if he had a best memory from his high school athletic campaign, Stewart didn’t answer about any of the records he holds. He didn’t mention his monster games on the basketball court, throwing for four touchdowns in a game or even competing during the summer months at major recruiting camps with fellow Division I players.

No, Stewart talked about the memories he’ll always have from his teammates, coaches and the work they put in, together, in order to compete.

“The whole summer of football training, the lifting, the throwing, this was our last summer together and to be able to cherish that was great,” Stewart said of his fondest memory. “That and freshman year when we came together and beat Harper Creek. It was one of those special nights where everything clicked and we ruined their homecoming. That was a special night.”

Lamb echoed the comments by Stewart, acknowledging that the quarterback has really grown up the past few years.

Page 5 of 5 - “Even in his personal life away from football, he’s taking things more seriously,” Lamb said. “He’s even taking courses that some might ask why push yourself. It just shows us he’s got a desire and willingness to always get better and improve.”

A self-proclaimed “pretty good” euchre player, Stewart said he doesn’t have many hidden talents. He admitted if he could be given one super power it’d be the gift of speed, because it’s something he’s always lacked and he’s always wished he was a tad bit faster.

And recently he made a drastic change to his appearance. During football season and up through the first basketball game of the year, Stewart had a head full of hair that required a headband when he was on the court.

But ultimately, it just wasn’t helping him.

“After the first basketball game it got annoying, always having it in your face, it just got too long,” Stewart said. “My grandpa wasn’t a big fan of it. He actually set up a date at the barber shop to get it cut. It got to the point about hearing him talk about it and it was just getting too long that I decided to get rid of it. But I’ll grow it back out.”

In just six months, Stewart will be competing for the starting quarterback job at Western Michigan. He knows many younger student-athletes look up to him and he said he tries to represent his community every day.

After all, people are going to remember and talk about him once he’s in college. But what, if anything, does Stewart hope they remember?

“I would definitely say leadership and my work ethic,” he said. “When you see little kids and I get a chance to talk to them, I tell them to give 110 percent every time. That’s one thing I want to leave here — I want people to remember that Chance Stewart, whenever he was competing, he came in and he gave it his all.”